Procedures:
Students read an informational article. They explore questions about
the author’s viewpoint, purpose, and style. After analyzing the
text, students share their responses, feedback, and evaluations about
the effectiveness of the selection. Invite students to summarize their
ideas by completing the sentence, “If I Were the Author I would...”

Examples:
This activity helps students identify text structures authors use to organize
information: chronological, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and description.
It can be used to focus students’ attention on how words and phrases
are used to convey facts and opinions.

Variations:
After collecting facts, ask students to brainstorm ways the information
could be shared with a variety of audiences. “Who would benefit
from knowing these facts?” “How would you share this information
if you were the author?” “What decisions would you make to
hook readers’ attention?” “How would you organize the
information to be reader-friendly?”